Israeli strikes kill dozens of people, including a local journalist, as Palestinian death toll in besieged territory nears 39,000.
The Israeli military has continued its relentless bombardment of Gaza with attacks hitting the southern, central and northern parts of the territory.
On Saturday, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that its teams recovered the bodies of 12 people killed in separate Israeli strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The Israeli army had bombed a residential tower in the area.
The Civil Defense also documented the killing of six Palestinians in the nearby Bureij camp, while another 10 were killed in Gaza City and other areas in the north of the territory.
According to local sources, Israel also bombed a commercial building housing displaced people east of Khan Younis on Saturday night. The Civil Defense said the attack killed at least six people and that others are still missing under the rubble.
Wafa news agency also reported that one person was killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Israeli shelling of Jabalia in northern Gaza killed local journalist Muhammad Abu Jasser along with his wife and two children.
“We were sleeping in the house safely. There was no armed presence. Suddenly, a missile fell on us,” Abu Jasser’s cousin told Al Jazeera Arabic.
“There were mangled bodies strewn outside, a horrible scene. Little children, what have they done to be killed like that?”
The Gaza government's media office said 161 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed since the start of the war.
On Saturday morning, the Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli forces had killed 37 people in the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll in the war to 38,919.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leading to a hunger crisis in the territory. Health advocates have also warned of the spread of disease due to sewage discharges around camps for displaced people.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has warned people against moving from the north to the south of the territory, accusing Israel of using “psychological pressure on citizens” to further displace Palestinians.
“We warn citizens against the lies and deceptions of the occupation. We welcome the steadfastness of citizens in their homes,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The occupation practices the most horrific forms of torture and abuse against displaced people, off-camera, executing dozens of them and leaving the wounded to bleed to death.”
Israel has stepped up its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks amid talks to reach a ceasefire deal that would see the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Hamas accused Israel of stepping up its bombing campaign over the past two days in response to the International Court of Justice ruling Friday that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.
“The United Nations must act swiftly to stop this display of Zionist crimes and terrorism that is taking place with the direct support of the US administration,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group's political bureau, stressed later on Saturday that Israel's “crimes” will not stop without a “price to pay and increasing pressure.”
Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and allied armed groups claimed responsibility for several attacks against Israeli forces on Thursday, including an ambush on a tank in Rafah.
